BOSTON (Reuters) - Research and investment into brain-related illnesses is growing at an unprecedented rate as scientific advances coincide with the demands of an aging baby-boom population determined to beat the odds.

Now, investors looking to place bets on this fast-growing but highly specialized sector can.

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc is poised to launch an index made up of companies whose primary focus is the development of drugs, devices and diagnostics to treat neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.

It is one of the first indexes ever to focus on a specific disease category, and Nasdaq expects it to interest several types of investors, from individuals touched by a particular disorder to those seeking to minimize the risk of stock-picking in a complicated industry.

"This index will be the defining metric for performance of companies in this very important segment of the health field," said Steven Bloom, senior vice president, Nasdaq Financial Products.

...To qualify for inclusion in the index, a company must be a "pure play" neurology company, deriving some 50 percent or more of its revenue from treatments for central nervous system disorders, or devoting 50 percent or more of its research and development dollars to the field.

According to a report by NeuroInsights, global sales of pharmaceuticals for neurological disorders grew 8.5 percent to $101 billion in 2006, compared to a 7 percent growth rate for the overall pharmaceuticals market.

And Zack Lynch, co-author of the report, said venture capitalists are plowing money into the field, with investment rising 7.5 percent in 2006 to $1.67 billion.

"The aging of the baby-boom generation is creating a substantial market opportunity," he said.

I was one of about a dozen speakers brought in for this intense two day session. I started off by providing an extensive overview of NeuroInsights latest neurotech market and investment information. I then honed in on the transformative impact the passage of the National Neurotechnology Initiative (NNTI), a program I have been spearheading within NIO, the trade association I launched last year, could have on the global brain industry landscape. The NNTI is a newly proposed $200M/year Federal research and development program designed to coordinate strategic investment across multiple government agencies to accelerate the development of vitally important areas of the field.

September 4, 2007

Now in its seventh year, Jim Cavuoto is hosting the annual Neurotech Leaders Forum Conference on October 25-26 at the Radisson Hotel, Newport Beach, CA. This two-day conference offers an exclusive forum for neurodevice executives and entrepreneurs to interact with investors, technologists, and potential partners who are actively working to grow this new and exciting industry. Among the many interesting sessions are the Consumer/End User Panel, the panel on the Psychiatric Disorders Frontier and more prosaically the Reimbursement panel on which I will be speaking. Please come share your input on how NIO can help your company and our industry grow. See you there.